


Answering the Call

by SmilesRawesome



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, So does Pepper, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, We Stan a Lady, set during the first avengers movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 15:18:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17665013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmilesRawesome/pseuds/SmilesRawesome
Summary: Tony felt his heart fill with dread. They were sending a nuke into New York. Everyone here would die.“Sir. Shall I call Miss Potts?” JARVIS asked.OR: The one where Pepper answers her phone when Tony calls her as he’s heading towards the wormhole.





	Answering the Call

**Author's Note:**

> I watched the avengers again last night and I started thinking about what might happen if Pepper actually answered, so I wrote it lol.

Tony felt his heart fill with dread. They were sending a nuke into New York. A fucking nuke. Everyone here would die, the city would become a wasteland for decades, making anyone who came near sick. How could anyone decide to do this? There were still people here. Men, women and children, little kids, none of them with any control over the situation. 

  
  


One of them had to do something about it. 

  
  


He was the only one around who could. 

  
  


“I can close it! Can anyone hear me? I can shut the portal down!” Natasha’s voice sounded on the com, instantly followed by Steve. 

“Do it!”

“No, wait!” He interrupted, his panic spiking even if he didn’t let it spill into his voice. 

“Stark, these things are still coming.” Cap said, as if Tony didn’t know. But tensions were high and for all Cap knew he didn’t. 

“I got a nuke coming in, it's gonna blow in less than a minute. And I know just where to put it.”

  
  


Terror flooding in his veins, Tony flew to catch up with the missile, attaching himself to it. He put more power into the thrusters so he could guide it where he wanted it to go, where he needed it to go. 

  
  


Up. 

  
  


“Stark, you know that’s a one way trip?” Cap asked, and Tony ignored him. Not maliciously, he just didn’t like thinking about what he was about to do. 

  
  


“Sir. Shall I call Miss Potts?” JARVIS asked him, her photo flashing up on his display. Tony took a deep breath, staring at her. 

“Sure, why not?” He replied, trying to seem nonchalant. In reality he was more terrified than he’d been in his entire life. He was literally holding a nuclear bomb in his hands. 

  
  


The line rang for a while, for so long that Tony thought she wasn’t going to answer. Then, blissfully, thankfully, she did. She answered. His Pepper. 

“Tony? Is that you? I- I’m watching the footage of New York on the plane. Are you okay?” 

“I’m okay, Pep. Just wanted to check in with you.” He lied, feeling overwhelmed at the sound of her voice. She was okay. 

  
  


Really he had known she was okay. Had known she had already left New York. But having this confirmation that she was far away from all this danger just made everything… better. 

“What’s happening down there, Tones? Really? They say ironman is doing something, but they aren’t sure what yet. Please tell me what you’re doing.” Pepper asked, her voice strained with worry. Tony hated he was the reason. 

  
  


“I can tell you, but you won’t be happy. In fact, you’ll be furious. But I gotta do this, Pep.” He answered, his stomach rolling. He felt like he was going to be sick. “The world council sent a nuke into Manhattan, I’m holding it, I’m gonna fly up into the wormhole so it won’t hurt anyone.” 

“Tony!” Pepper gasped, letting out a small sob. Tony’s vision went blurry with tears. “Tony, you- you can’t do this.” She begged softly. 

  
  


“I’m sorry.” He whispered. “Someone has to, or New York is a goner. We have to get rid of it.” He sucked in a deep breath, his voice shaking when he didn’t want it to. These were probably his and Pepper’s last moments, he didn’t want them to be like this. He refused to let them be like this. 

“I love you, Pepper. I hope you know that. I’ve spent years being selfish but you have stuck by me through all of my worst moments when you didn’t have to, and I am so, so grateful to you, Pep. I would spend the rest of my life with you, everyday. I’d never get tired of being with you. Of your smile, your gorgeous red hair, of just… you. I’d scream my love for you from the rooftops or whisper it so only you could hear. I love you. I love you. I love you.” 

  
  


He was getting close to the portal. Once he was on the other side, they wouldn’t be able to talk to each other. Pepper was crying, he was crying too. 

“You come back to me.” She demanded, her voice strong despite the shakiness. “You come back through that fucking portal to me, okay? We’re gonna stay together and grow old and get a billion wrinkles and- and- god. I love you, Tony. I love you so much, Tony.” 

  
  


Tony sucked in a deep breath, the portal looming bigger and bigger before his eyes. 

“I’ll always be with you.” He whispered just before going through the event horizon. 

  
  


“Tony-“ 

  
  


Pepper’s voice cut off, leaving him alone in the silent expanse of space. Tony stared up at the huge ships just waiting to come through to earth, to his home, to hurt innocent people for no reason. He adjusted his course slightly, aiming the missile for the largest ship, the command ship (the mothership, his sci-fi brain geeked), and let go. He was already short on oxygen, his systems had already shut down. His suit wasn’t vacuum protected, and he was aware of free falling for only a moment before he blacked out. 

  
  


~~~

  
  


The people who owned and ran the shawarma place were still there, and gladly offered to make food for the people who had saved them from total destruction. They pushed two tables together, and everyone collapsed into a seat, Tony writing a reminder on a napkin to send these people enough money to rebuild their shop. JARVIS was busy at the moment, running all sorts of programs in the aftermath of this whole invasion thing, and his helmet section with his com was damaged, so he couldn’t do what he really wanted to do. 

  
  


“Anyone got a phone I can borrow?” He asked, getting an array of different looks in reply. “Please.” He added, softer. Barton gave him a half smile, and pulled a burner out of one of his pockets. 

“Go nuts, Stark.” He said, making Tony breathe a sigh of relief. 

“Thanks.” He said sincerely, getting a surprised expression from Natasha which he ignored. 

  
  


It took a bit of fiddling to get through the security systems he had in place before he could actually call Pepper, but he did it after a few minutes. He pressed the phone to his ear, his other hand rubbing his forehead as he listened to the ringing. 

“Pepper Potts.” She answered, all business, making Tony let out a hysterical huff of laughter. 

“Pep.” He breathed, closing his eyes and grinning widely. 

“Tony!” She cried on the other side, letting out her own laugh of relief. “Oh my god, Tony, you’re okay! Thank God you’re okay. I’ve been so worried. You are okay, right? Please tell me you’re okay.” 

  
  


“I’m okay, I’m okay.” He laughed quietly, leaning back on the chair with a smile. “Just a few scratches. Nothing a shower and a good night's sleep won’t fix.” He promised, wishing desperately that he could see her face. He could picture it in his head, but it wasn’t nearly as good as the real Pepper. 

“Good. Don’t do something like that again, I’ve been scared out of my mind! Promise me.” 

“I promise.” He said instantly, fully intending to keep it. “No more going into space.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! I literally live off of comments, so I am BEGGING YOU to let me know what you thought!   
> If you’d like, you can also come talk to me on tumblr, @adhdpanchito !!


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